Ice Age: Continental drift Tora edition
by Superfluous-Slytherin
Summary: The continents are breaking apart. Manny, Sid, Diego, and Tora find themselves away from the mainland, in pirate infested waters. Said Pirates include a crazy monkey and two interesting sabers. One of these sabers with striking blue eyes catches Tora's attention, and yet he is trying to kill her. How will they make it home this time?
1. Chapter 1

**Guys, I am so sorry! I had this entire chapter typed and ready to go up weeks ago and then none of it saved and I've been so overwhelmed that I didn't have time to retype it. Finally had a chance so I hope you enjoy this first chapter!**

 **Word count: 1406**

Two green eyes blinked open in the still darkness. Diego gently moved his sister off of him so that she woke up as he stood. The sun hadn't risen yet but the two sabers stretched and looked around. They silently took in all the scents of the mammals around them, checking that everyone was still there.

Tora specifically walked over to Peaches and made sure she was there. She had gotten into the habit of sneaking off without her father knowing and Manny was always livid. The teen was hanging from the tree, her breaths even and deep so Tora followed her brother away from the area.

They had found a new home after Peaches was born, after migrating they had found more mammoths and animals that lived in peace. None of the animals were particularly happy having sabers living amongst them but they kept their distance and only hunted outside the valley so the animals had grown used to them. Of course, there were always a few animals that weren't happy with them around and mothers always got skittish but they were content.

The two sabers left the valley and managed to snag a deer that had already hurt. They are quickly as the sun rose beside them. Once they were satisfied, Tora cleaned her paws and helped Diego clean his face and Diego returned the favor. They quickly drug the rest of the carcass into the bushes where it would not be seen or taken and saved it for later. A loud rumbling came through the air and both saber paused but after several seconds of silence, they relaxed.

Tora shook her fur and smirked at her brother before shoving him gently and taking off. He growled playfully and chased after her, the siblings off racing through the trees.

Diego leapt forward and tackled his sister to the ground and they rolled several feet before he ended up on top of her.

"Alright! Alright you big lump. Get off of me." She laughed.

"To be fair, you started this." Diego teased.

Tora rolled her eyes and looked around. They had stopped at a cliff/hill, overlooking the valley. She leapt up on the rock and Diego followed suit, leaping between rocks until they reached an overhang, watching the mountains and the clouds. The ground shook again and it appeared as though the trees below them were shaking as well.

Diego smirked and roared loudly, surprising Tora. "Ya, you don't scare me Mother Nature! There's nothing you can throw at me that I can't handle!"

Tora rolled her eyes but roared as well, smiling down into the valley. Small screams came to their ears and they frowned and glanced around. Diego glanced to the side to see a giant log hurtling towards them. He yelped and Tora scrambled but the log hit them both. They clung to the front in fear as they heard voices above them start speaking.

"I think we're almost there!" A female said excitedly.

"We had better be! I just lost the steering."

"Has anyone seen Precious? It's her feeding time." And old voice chimed in.

"Mom! Granny's talking about her dead pet again." someone complained.

"Hey, paws up, everybody!"

"Paws down, Uncle, please! That is nasty."

"Be careful, Milton, you're going to hurt somebody!" The female snapped as the log swerved.

Diego managed to claw his way up to get a better grip on the log while Tora still remained with her claws in the wood.

"Bad kitty!" The female sloth snapped as she smacked Diego's face.

"Rock!" The young sloth cried.

The sled hit the rock at full speed and Diego was launched over the back and into the old, tied up sloth. Tora was knocked off, into the powdery snow which she rolled in before scrambling to her feet to see her brother fly over the cliff, saved by the vines attached to him. She took off running, determined to catch up with the sled.

She managed to reach the back of the sled before she heard Diego gasp and she glanced up to see the log headed for Peaches. Diego leapt backwards, the vines still attached to him and wrapped his paws around a tree. Tora grabbed the snapped vines that still clung to the log and dug her feet in desperately. The log stopped just inches before Peaches and the sloths went flying out of it, Peaches gently tapped it so that it fell to the ground, harmless.

"Manny, are you okay?" Ellie asked worriedly.

"Get off... my face!" Manny snapped.

Diego leapt off the tree and cut the old sloth loose from him. Tora bounded up to him, her fur spiked out. "That was fun." She said sarcastically.

"Now, who should I eat first?" Diego snarled, leaning forward.

"No, no, no!" The sloth cried, scrambling away before Diego leapt onto him and held him down.

"Uncle Fungus! Could that really be you?" Came the cry from the crowd. "Sorry, , Dad! Marshall!" Sid cried as he ran forward.

"Hey!"

"Granny?"

"This pumpkin's ripe for picking!" The old sloth said, poking a beaver with her stick.

"My whole familia." Sid cried, hugging them close to his chest.

Manny poked Peaches. "See? He still hugs his parents."

"I never thought I'd see my little baby again. We've been searching everywhere for you." Sids mother said.

"You have?I knew it, I knew it! Deep down, I knew I wasn't abandoned!" The sloth smiled.

Marshall smirked. "That's incorrect. We totally abandoned you."

Tora's ear flicked at the comment and even Diego looked a little surprised.

"But we always missed you. Right?

Sid's dad coughed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we just knew Sid would want to see his poor, dear Granny before her time is up.

"I'll bury you all and dance on your graves." Granny snapped and Sid's father laughed nervously.

"So she can't wait to spend time with you, Sid.

"Oh, yeah, Granny? Granny?" Sids father called, only to see Granny burning Marshall with a piece of ice.

"I never get to have any fun." She snapped as she was drug away.

"Why don't you show her your cave?" SIds father prompted. "Yeah, she could use a nap."

"Boy, there's so much to tell you. A lot has happened since the last time I saw you!" Sid cried happily as he led her away.

"Not interested." The old sloth sighed.

"But we fought dinosaurs in the lce Age. It didn't make sense, but it sure was exciting." He said as they moved out of view.

"We got rid of the crazy bat! Let's go!" SIds uncle cried as they began climbing into the log again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Manny cried as the sloths began pushing the log away.

"What?" Tora gasped as she scrambled in front of the log as well.

"You can't just leave. Sid will be crushed." Manny reminded them.

"Do you realize how cruel that is?" Tora snapped angrily.

"Sorry, cookie, things are breaking apart back home." Sids mother said.

"So, we're headed inland. And Granny is just dead weight." The father said cruelly.

"See you."

"Mush, mush! And warn the community. She tends to wander!" The sloth cried over his shoulder as the log slid down the hill.

"Well, that explains a lot about Sid." Diego said, attempting a joke.

"Mom, Dad, do you have Granny's teeth? She can't find them." Sid said as he rounded the corner back into the clearing. "Hey! Can you chew this thing for me?" Granny asked, poking Sid with an apple.

"Guys? Where is everyone?"

"I'll handle this." Diego said softly. "Sid? Your family was wiped out by an asteroid. Sorry."

"What?" Sid cried in despair as Tora shoved her brother in annoyance.

"What Diego is trying to say is…." Manny began, pushing him to the side. "they left. They only wanted to find you so you could take care of Granny."

"Come on, what kind of sick family would ditch their Granny on someone?" Sid laughed nervously. "That's just crazy. That's just... That's just... ...my family." He finished sadly and Tora wanted nothing more than to hug him.

"At least you still have Granny. Right, buddy?" Diego said, attempting to cheer him up.

"Yeah, Granny. Granny? Granny?" Sid cried as he looked around for Granny. "Wow. For an old girl, she moves fast." Ellie said as the herd began looking for the sloth.


	2. Chapter 2

**I had this chapter ready to go up on Halloween but it was Halloween so I got distracted. Introduced a new character in this chapter and I hope you like him**!

 **Word count: 2275**

"Granny?" Sid cried as the traveled through the snowy fields.

"Granny. Granny?" Manny called.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" "Come on, Granny. Here, Granny, Granny. I have prunes for you! Just the way you like them!" Sid yelled as he spit the prunes into his hands.

"I don't want to see that." Diego said as he cringed away.

"I don't think anyone does." Tora sighed. She sniffed the air worriedly but couldn't find a scent of the sloth. No matter how annoying or strange Sid was, she cared about him and Granny was his only family left. And with the ground rumbling every few minutes now, everyone was on edge.

Suddenly, Manny broke away from them and stormed down the hill. Tora watched him in confusion only for him to drag Peaches back a few moments later.

"How could you embarrass me in front of my friends?" Peaches cried.

"What did he do?" Tora asked in confusion as she attempted to soothe the young mammoth who was glaring at her father.

"He grounded me in front of all my friends!" Peaches wailed.

"Why?"

"Because she specifically disobeyed me!" Manny snapped. "She went to the falls when she wasn't supposed to!"

"You could have at least waited until her friends weren't around to ground her." Tora scolded.

"Well she needs to be grounded and if embarrassing her means she won't do it again, then so be it."

"Manny, she can make her own decisions. You don't always have to be so harsh on her." Tora attempted to quiet the mammoth, her sympathy towards her niece driving her.

"I don't need you telling me how to parent!" Manny snapped. "It's not like you have ever had a kid or a family!"

Diego growled lowly but he didn't make any move. He knew Manny didn't mean it but the words still stung and from the way Tora's fur spiked, it hurt her as well.

"You don't need to bring Aunt Tora or Uncle Diego into this!" Peaches yelled.

"Well maybe I have to! I obviously can't trust you!"

"I wish you weren't my father!" Peaches words rang through the clearing.

Manny's face was one of hurt and betrayal. If Tora hadn't still been very hurt by his words, she would have felt sorry for him.

"Peaches. You don't mean that." Tora sighed and Diego nodded.

The ground shook again, this time much more violently.

"What was that?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know", Manny said. "Stay there, I'll come to you."

The moment their trunks touched, the ground split in two. the large chunk of land with Manny, Diego, Tora and Sid was falling toward the ocean. Tora yelped and scrambled, her claws digging into the ice. Sid attempted to do the same but he slipped at Tora grabbed at him wildly. He clung to her leg in fear.

"Go to the land bridge!" Manny said. "You'll be safe on the other side."

The large chunk of land fell free into the ocean. More pieces of land made huge waves that drove them out to sea. The mammals desperately began paddling but soon, the sabers and sloth gave up.

"They need me! We got to get back." Manny cried desperately paddling against the waves.

"Buddy, this thing's too big to turn. The current's pulling us out." Diego said sadly

"We can't do anything." Tora sighed.

"You know, my mother once told me that bad news was just good news in disguise." Sid said hopefully.

"That's a nice thought." Tora said, catching her breath.

"Was this before she abandoned you?" Diego snapped and Tora glared at him. "Yes, it was. But the point being that, even though things look bad... there's a rainbow around every corner... and nothing but smooth sailing ahead!" He said confidently.

Thunder rumbled and dark clouds began to amass in front of them. "Smooth sailing, Sid?" Manny asked skeptically.

After that, it was all a blur for Tora. The winds were howling and the water was so rough that she was nearly washed over several times. Eventually, they made out out of the storm alive, only to find Granny hiding in one of the trees. Tora lay on the ice in boredom, Diego sat watching the water with a little bit of distrust.

"How big is this ocean?" Manny cried in despair.

"Water, water, everywhere Nor any drop to drink." Sid moaned. "Well, except maybe that drop." He took a big gulp and the ocean water and frowned. "That's a little... salty." His face puckered up and Tora smiled sympathetically at the sloth.

" Precious! Mommy's calling you. Precious! Come here, sweetie." Granny called before coming towards the sabers. "Hey, lady, have you seen Precious?" She asked, hitting Diego.

"If you mean the imaginary, or perhaps deceased, pet... that you keep searching for, no, I haven't." Diego snapped.

"We haven't seen Precious." Tora said more kindly as Granny turned to her.

"Guys, look. Where there's birds, there's land, right?" Manny called as a bird circled above the ice. "Hey, buddy, come here. No, wait, wait! Come back. Come back!" The bird turned and flew away and the mammals scrambled to the edge of the ice to watch it sadly.

"Am I hallucinating, or is that ice coming straight towards us?" Diego asked as a piece of ice materialized out of the dogs.

"Not hallucinating." Tora breathed in shock.

"Yeah, yeah, it's coming. It sounds like there's animals on it." Manny was smiling now.

"Yippee! We're being rescued, we're being rescued!" Sid sang. "I hear laughter. Must be a party cruise."

The large iceberg grew closer and Tora stared up at in in surprise. Several animals appeared on the edge to stare down at them, including a rabbit and two sabers. Tora couldn't help but stare at the two.

There was a white female with black stripes and blue eyes who was absolutely stunning. And next to her was a larger black saber, obviously a male, with a white underbelly and slightly lighter grey paws who was very handsome.

Tora quickly snapped out of her trance when Sid chuckled and elbowed her and Diego.

"Wow. Get ready to slice and dice, boys." A bunny said, waving a sharpened fish bone around in the air.

"Knock it off, Squint." The female saber snapped, pushing the rabbit down.

"Hey!" He cried indignantly.

The male silenced him with a glare as he bared his teeth. "Wait for Captain's orders." He said coolly, his eyes scanning the animals below. They paused on Tora and and she felt a small shiver run down her spine at his light blue eyes that stared into her emerald ones.

A large ape leapt up and hung onto a vine. "Ahoy, down there! How lucky are you? You know these waters are infested with pirates. Right, boys?" He called, causing his crew to laugh. "Glad we found you before they did. Captain Gutt, here to help." He smirked.

"You know, that's a nice monkey." Granny said.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. We just need to get back to the continent." Manny said hopefully.

"The continent? That pile of rubble?" Gutt laughed.

"My family's there, so if you could just..."

"Your family?" Gutt cut him off. "That is so sweet. I hope you said goodbye, because there's no way back."

"Yes, there is." The elephant seal cut in. "Don't you remember, Captain? You can sail to Switchback Cove and catch the current back from there. It's like a steel trap, this noggin is." He smiled.

"Thank you, Mister Flynn." Gutt snapped.

"See? I knew there was a way home!" Manny cried excitedly and Tora found herself smiling.

"There is no home!" The ape cried angrily. "There is only here. And here, your ship belongs to me." Vines shot out of the ship and attached the the ice. "Battle stations!" The animals grabbed weapons and growled. "Fly the colors! Now surrender your ship or face my fury."

"Or face your furry what?" Sid asked in confusion.

"Not "furry." Fury! Fire!" A large ball of ice came from the ship and landed on the ice. The mammals scrambled back to avoid it.

"Hit the mammoth, win a prize." The rabbit cried, throwing several sharpened bones at Manny, hitting his tusks. "Ding, ding, ding."

Diego and Tora glanced at each other before running in opposite directions and cutting the vines.

"Fire the starboard cannons."

"I love this job!" The kangaroo cried as she fired more ice.

"Shira, Zane, fetch." The ape ordered.

"Aye-aye, Captain." They both called as they leapt down.

The white female landed in front of Diego, stopping him from reaching the last vine on his side. "You almost made it." Shira laughed.

"I don't fight girls." Diego growled.

Shira snapped the vine in his face before knocking him to the ground. "I can see why." She laughed.

Tora wasn't having any better luck. She had managed to snap all of the vines she could but when she'd turned around, the black saber was standing there, trapping her in the corner.

"Too bad." He laughed. "I was almost rooting for you."

Tora growled. "Get out of my way." She snapped.

Zane tilted his head as though he was thinking. "I don't think I can do that." He smirked.

He suddenly sprang forward, knocking Tora's paws out from under her. He stood over her, his front paws on either side of her head. Tora heard a loud thump as saw Manny fall the the ground, his eyes closed. Fear filled her mind as the ape leapt down onto the ice. He examined Manny while the kangaroo came towards her. She could see the rabbit heading towards her brother before her view was blocked.

"Thanks Raz." Zane smirked as the kangaroo began tying vines around her. They looped around her neck and she tried to jerk out of them but Raz tightened it suddenly, taking her breath away. They started tying the vines around her legs as well but Gutt stopped them.

"Let the sabers walk. Raz, we need your help with the mammoth."

Zane carefully stepped off of her and let her stand. He had the vine in his mouth and he watched her carefully.

"Don't try anything." He warned.

Tora could see her brother getting the same treatment and she remained quiet. The mammals were led onto the ship where they were tied to the masts. Granny had a loop around her ankle that tied her to a post, Manny and Sid were tied to the main mast, while Diego and Tora were tied to the branches stemming off the main mast. Tora was hanging by a raised piece of ice where the male saber, she had heard him called Zane, sat and watched the ship. She wanted to claw the smug look off his face as he watched them be tied up but her paws were wrapped in vines.

Manny groaned and Diego chuckled. "Welcome to the party." He said sarcastically.

"Morning, sunshine." Gutt chuckled as he landed in front of Many. "Let me be the first to extend the hand of friendship."

"That's your foot." Manny said dryly.

"Nothing gets by you, does it? I bet you're feeling lost, scared, confused. Allow me to explain. Help me out, boys."

"Captain's going to sing a shanty!" The elephant seal said happily.

"Here you are on a boat

You're adrift

You're afloat

One might even say you're stuck

Well I don't want to gloat but

I would like to note that you're in luck." The ape hit Sids nose before moving towards Manny.

"You've been saved by the ape that rules these waters

So forget about your wives and daughters!" Manny glared at the ape as he swung away.

"First mates introduce me to them pleeease!"

"Aye, Aye, Captain Gutt." The two sabers called and leapt onto the ground.

"He's a big scary

Elegant and hairy." Shira sang as she leapt around the ship.

"Feared inspiring years till' retiring, Lootting stealing." Zane joined in.

"Banana peeling!" The elephant seal laughed.

"Undisputed master of the seas!" The whole crew sang.

"Oh jeez" Sid whined.

"That's me!" Gutt bragged.

"Tis' he!" The crew called excitedly.

"That's me!"

"Tis' he!"

"That's me!"

"Tis' he!"

"Okay, Okay,

I'm a primate pirate pioneer and these are my brave buccaneers

All of whom were once lost souls like you" the animals began singing again.

"It's true!"

"He rescued us!"

"He saved our butts!"

"For that we owe our lives to Gutt" Shira smirked as she stalked on the branch above Diego.

"and assuming he doesn't kill you" Zane chuckled as he leapt up to where Tora was hanging and ran a claw down her neck which caused her to growl in annoyance and she could see Diego trying to get away from Shira.

"You will owe him too!" They all sang together.

"Here we are on ship

Moving at quite a clip through the ever shifting ice

Come along on a trip"

"That's a hint"

"That's a tip"

"That's good advice."

"In a world that's going under

To survive you must learn to plunder

Luckily that's my field of expertise." The ape was smiling greedily at a pile of food.

"He's the best!"

"He's a robbing thieving"

"We really should be leaving." Diego and Tora said in unison.

"Weapon throwing."

"We gotta get going." Manny gasped.

"Sloth slaying."

"Wish we could be staying." Sid said nervously.

"Undisputed

Uncontested

Monkey suited

Yeah you guessed it!

Master of the seas!"

"Oh please!" Manny rolled his eyes.

"That's me!"

"Tis' he!"

"That's me!"

"Tis' he!"

"It's who?"

"It's you!"

"Just testing

I knew

It's me!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I feel like I'm always making excuses. Sorry guys, I've been busy with school and Christmas coming up and my birthday. I'm finally 15! Kinda sad that I'm writing Ice Age fanfics at 15 but oh well!**

 **Word count: 2994**

"'Captain Gutt'? Really? I have a little paunch, too, but I wouldn't name myself after it." Manny mocked the ape.

"That's funny. You're a funny guy. But that's not how I got my name. These got me my name" The ape held his claws up threateningly.

"I don't get it." Sid chimes in and Tora winced.

"No? Okay. Let me give you a visual aid." Gutt cut the vines on Sid's hands and he hung upside down. "I just gently press here." He touched his claw to Sid's stomach.

"That tickles." The sloth giggled.

"And go down like this." His claw ran down to Sid's neck.

"And then your innards become your outards." Squint laughed.

"I still don't get it." Sid said softly.

"Look," Manny cut in. "as much as I'm tempted to join a monkey... the Easter Bunny and a giant bag of pudding... I'll pass. No one's going to stop me from getting back to my family."

"I'm going to lambada with your liver, buddy. Let me at him!" The rabbit cried angrily. He was silenced by a snarl from the sabers and a glare from Gutt.

"That family is going to be the death of you." Gutt chuckled. "First mates, jettison the deadweight."

"Aye-aye, sir." Zane sprang to his paws.

"Prepare the plank!" Shira yelled.

"Prepare the plank!" Squint echoed to her annoyance.

"Preparing the plank!" The seal said happily, dangling a plank over the side.

Zane glanced at Tora and Diego and Manny and smirked. "Don't worry. The captain still thinks you could be of use."

This pirates pushed Sid onto the plank and he gulped. "What? You want me to walk into the water? I can't because I just ate less than an hour ago." He said desperately.

"That's a myth." The kangaroo snapped.

"Okay, as long as it's safe." Sid whispered and glanced over the edge.

"Wait!" Gutt cried.

"Thank goodness." Sid yelped.

"Dump the wench, too." They cut the vines holding Granny and led her to the plank.

"Ladies first." Gutt smiled.

"Such a nice boy. Why can't you be more like him, Sidney?" Granny hit Sid and looked over the edge.

"Granny, no! Wait!" Sid tried to run forward but the pirates held him.

"Manny! Get me to the vine." Diego said, gesturing to a vine beside him.

"Yeah, yeah, got it." Manny leaned to the side and Tora pushed her paws off the mast to swing her brother's branch.

"You all got some ugly goldfish." Granny laughed.

"Come on, a little more." Diego's teeth connected with the vine and the vines holding Manny began to snap and he broke free.

"No! Extinct that mammoth." Gutt cried!

"Come on, Manny, kick his monkey butt!" Sid goaded.

"Look at you. Eleven tons of landlubber blubber. Hey, I'm not fat! I'm poufy."

While the two were fighting, Tora and Diego managed to tear free from the vines. Shira And Zane leapt at them angrily, standing in their way.

The ice began to crack under their feet and the two siblings scrambled towards Manny. As the ship went down, they clung on to the ice desperately. Sid and Granny were holding onto Manny who was having a hard time balancing as the ice landed in the ocean.

"No! No! My bounty!" Gutt cried angrily.

"They sunk our are we going to do?" Squint asked.

"We're all going to drown." Funn cried.

"You're a sea creature, you idiot."

"Good point, sir." Finn laughed.

"Should I fly the white, captain?" The badger suggested.

"No!"

"Wait, what about Shira and Zane?" Finn asked, looking around.

"What about them?" Gutt snapped.

"Yeah, what about them?" Squint chimes in.

"Anyone else want to play "Captain" Good. Now come on, blubber-brain. Swim." The Pirates floated away from the wrecked ship and away from the other mammals.

Shiras head broke the surface as she desperately tried to swim. "Hey! Gutt! Flynn! Zane! Anyone there?"

"Shira!" Her brothers head bobbed in the ocean next to her. "Do you see the crew?"

"Here, grab hold." The sudden voices surprised them and they saw Manny extending his trunk to them.

"No, go away. I'd rather drown." Shira snarled.

"We don't need your help." Zane sputtered as a wave lapped over his head.

"Whatever the lady wants." Diego grinned.

A rather large wave swept against the ice and both sabers went under. Manny grabbed Shira with his trunk with Tora leaned over the ice to grab Zane's scruff and Diego helped her pull him up.

"I said I didn't need your help." Shira coughed out water as Zane shoved Tora away from him and moved to his sisters side.

"You're welcome." Tora snapped at his back.

"So, care to join our scurvy crew?" Diego teased.

"Two sloths, a mammoth and a saber?" Zane looked at them incredulously.

"You guys are like the start of a bad joke." Shira chuckled.

"And we saved you. That makes you the punch line, kitty." Shira leapt forward and tackled Diego angrily.

Tora started forward but Zane blocked her path, growling at her.

"Don't call me "kitty."" Shira growled.

"Out of my way." Tora snarled and Zane simply smirked, planting his paws more firmly.

"Okay, I won't... Kitty." Diego shoved Shira off of him so that he was on top of her.

While Zane was distracted by his sister, Tora shot forward and knocked him off his feet, holding him against the ice.

"If they kiss, I'm going to puke." Granny chimes in.

"What? Wait, no." Diego scrambled off of Shira and Tora felt her fur grow hot as she got off of Zane.

"Like the Kitten could hurt me." Zane mocked and Tora snarled, snapping her teeth at him before moving away.

They mammals had managed to get comfortable on the ice. Manny lay in the middle, Diego and Shira on one side and Tora and Zane on the other and Sid and Granny on the back. Tora had wanted to sit beside her brother but the ice had broken so much that she'd have to swim around the side.

"Hey, chew this sandwich for me." Granny handed Sid a clam.

"Granny, why didn't our family want us? What's wrong with us?" Sid asked and Tora flicked her ear, not liking where his conversation was going but she simply listened.

"They think we're screw-ups and we can't do anything right." Sid opened the clam and a squirrel was sitting inside.

"It's a rat!" Granny cried and hit the squirrel as the clam shut on Sid's fingers. He screamed and slammed the clam against the ice, spreading a crack along the back.

"No! No!" He cried!

"Screw up." Granny snapped.

"Oh, Sid! We'll never make it home on this thing." Diego snapped as all four sabers had to scramble to their feet.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you capsized our berg, genius." Shira snapped.

"It's not like that was our plan!" Tora snapped.

"Yeah, trying to escape." Diego growled.

"Look out, the Kitten is getting mad." Zane mocked.

"Wimp!" Tora snarled

"Whiner!" Zane shot back.

"Crybaby!" Shira growled at Diego.

"Land!" Manny cries.

"Yeah, land!" Diego said mockingly then blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Not her. There! Land! Everyone paddle. Paddle!" There was indeed an island in the distance and the mammals paddled desperately.

By the time they reached the island, they were all exhausted. Tora leapt off the ice and landed in the water, trudging to the sand and dropping down with a sigh and she heard the others lay down as well.

"Food! I missed you so much! Look at me, I've wasted away." Tora looked up to see Sid shoving something in his mouth, only to scream as bugs flew out.

"Okay, snack time is over. We got to build a raft." Manny pushed himself to his feet and began to pick up pieces of wood. Zane nudged Shira and whispered in her ear. "Get up slowly and run. We'll split up and meet at the cove."

"Manny." Diego complained as the two pirates slowly got to their feet and took off.

"Wow, Shira and Zane must really hate building rafts."

"Go get them. They can help us get back." Manny cried.

"Shira!" Diego growled and took off as Tora spun and chased Zane.

As she ran after him, he led her into the forest. He swerved suddenly and leapt up a fallen tree that was leaning on a cliff. He scrambled over the branches as Tora launched herself up and followed him. As she reached the top, sand sprayed in her eyes as he kicked it up when he ran. She snarled and shook her head before running after him. He suddenly turned and leapt down a side of a gorge. He kept running and Tora skidded to a stop at the top and watched him in shock. The side was steep but she saw him begin to leap up a series of rocks and she took off running across the top. He stopped at the top of the rocks, panting. He turned and looked around, searching for the orange saber. He didn't see her and he relaxed, turning to trot down the hill towards he cove. A force slammed into him and he rolled down the hill, claws digging into his shoulder as he was pinned to the ground. Tora was on top of him and He could hear water lapping nearby and he realized she must have knocked him down towards the beach.

"Did you think you could escape?" She growled.

"Yes." He said simply. "You're fast, Kitten."

Tora growled and dug her claws into his shoulder a little more before Diego's voice floated from above her.

"Switchback Cove. It's the way home." He gasped.

Tora looked up the see the water curving around a bend and a pirate ship in the water. She glanced up to see Diego pinning Shira on an overhang above her. Loud footsteps echoed as Manny ran into the clearing but Tora's eyes had locked on the boat. The pirates were forcing small rodents to do their work. Tora slipped off of Zane carefully and shoved him up the hill. He turned to try and get away and she growled and Diego flattened his ears as they climbed the hill.

"We need somewhere to keep them." Manny said, watching them suspiciously.

"Not together." Tora said immediately and Zane glared at her.

"Gonna separate me from my sister? You wouldn't like it if I separated you from your precious brother."

"You're a prisoner, you don't get a choice." Diego growled. He let Shira up carefully and glanced around. "There."

He nudged Shira towards a hollow tree and she held her head high as she defiantly stepped into it. Manny grabbed a rock quickly and shoved it in the opening.

"What about him?" Sid asked, pointing at Zane whose black fur was bristling.

Tora frowned and padded forward slowly but she knew he wouldn't run, not without Shira. The place where Manny has grabbed the rock revealed a shallow cave that dipped into darkness. She sniffed the air cautiously and wasn't surprised at the stale air. She slipped inside carefully and Diego blinked.

"Tora?"

"I'm making sure there aren't any snakes or animals down here, or other exits." She called.

"Like you wouldn't jump on a chance to feed me to snakes." Zane scoffed and Tora sighed.

It wasn't very deep but it was dark and the sand filling it was soft. Jagged rocks kept any thoughts of digging out of her mind and she nodded, leaping out of it.

"Manny, grab a branch thick enough that he can't bite through it." As Manny grabbed the branch, Tora motioned to the hole.

Zane jumped into it effortlessly and turned to stare at her venomously as Manny dropped the branch over the entrance. Once the prisoners were secure, the mammals turned to watch Gutt scream at the rodents.

"So what do you think?" Diego asked.

"Two words, anger management." Sid said.

"He's talking about the current." Tora nudged Sid gently and pointed at the current.

"Diego's right. We found the way home." Manny said happily.

"Yeah, that's great. Too bad we don't have a ship."

"Sure we do. It's right there." Manny pointed at the ship.

"Well, that's a flawless plan. You want to pirate a pirate ship from pirates." Shira scoffed.

"That's about as smart as climbing a tree in a lighting storm." Zane mocked.

"It pains me to say this, but…" Tora sighed and Diego nodded.

"our prisoner has a point." He said.

"Yeah, well…"

Sid cut Manny off quickly. "Guys. The trees have ears."

Small hyraxes popped out of the trees and stared at them curiously.

"Wait a minute, maybe we can help each other." Manny said excitedly. "Hey, little fellas. Hey, come on out. No, no, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you. How about you and us against the pirates, huh?" The hyraxes babbled curiously. "You got no idea what I'm saying, do you? Okay, ship, me want."

"Yeah, nice try Jungle Jim." Shira mocked.

"You're a real natural." Zane called lazily.

"Go ahead make fun. He got it." The lead hyrax babbled and held up a banana. "Thank you." Manny sighed.

"May I try?" Sid asked.

"Yeah, knock yourself out." Manny sighed.

"Okay, watch this. Sick sloths sip broth, sick sloths sip broth." Sid suddenly broke into dancing movements mimicking the pirates and spinning. "Ta-da!"

The hyraxes nodded happily and Diego stared at them in shock. "That, they got?"

"I never thought I'd say this but Sid is a genius." Tora smiled at Sid happily.

"Yup, they're in."

"Great, we'll free your buddies and we can all work together... to kick a little pirate booty." Manny cried.


	4. Chapter 4

**Today is the first day of Christmas break! I woke up at 7 because of my dogs and I just sat down and finished this chapter (had about half). Enjoy!**

 **Word count: 2338**

Zane was laying in the dark silently, listening to the sounds of his captors when footsteps sounded above him and he snarled. He heard a small chuckle as Tora leapt down by the branch, glancing around quickly and dropped a small bundle into the hole.

"Relax, we aren't going to kill you." Tora smiled as she nodded at the bundle. "There's water in there."

Zane carefully bit the leaf and saw there was indeed water held in the bowl of leaves. Zane sniffed it suspiciously and lapped it slowly. The waxy leaves held the water and he half expected to seize or choke but it didn't happen.

"You didn't put anything in the water to hurt me."

"Don't act so surprised!" Tora snapped indignantly.

"Kitten has a temper." He mocked and turned away from her.

"Why is it that whenever you talk, you always sound like you would rather being swallowing a live eel?"

"It's only with you Kitten." He turned back to see her glaring into the hole.

"I have a name." She growled.

"Sorry that I was too busy trying to escape to ask."

"What is wrong with you? What happened that you think you're better than everyone else?"

Zane laughed humorously. "What happened to you that makes you think that everyone has to be smiling and happy every second of every day?"

"We don't..." She was cut off by Sid bouncing up to her.

"Tora! I finally made you a shell necklace."

Tora smiled gently and nudged him. "Sid, I already have a necklace."

"I know but I thought you'd like this one!" He said hopefully.

Tora sighed. "Put it by the fire and I'll get it later."

Sid smiled and skipped away and Zane smirked. "Told you so. You wouldn't last 10 minutes in a pack."

"Funny, if that was the case I wouldn't be standing here." She grinned.

Zane huffed and ignored her and she turned to walk away.

"Kitten." He called softly but she didn't stop. "Kitten!" He insisted. "Tora!" He said finally and she froze and turned slowly.

"You aren't going to win." He warned. "Gutt will do anything to win."

Tora flicked her ear and her fur bristled a little. "We will do anything to get home."

She spun and stalked back to the fire where Diego was sitting, looking a little shaken.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she listened to Manny explain the plan to the hyraxes.

"Ya. I'm fine." He glanced over his shoulder at Shira who was watching them.

Tora frowned and glanced at Zane, who's eyes glittered in the moonlight. She shrugged and pawed at her necklace, fixing the charms so that they sat comfortably against her fur. Diego lay down and stared at the fire and she lay her head on his back carefully. She didn't fall asleep because she knew once Manny fell asleep, she and Diego would keep watch. Sure enough, as the fire died, the two sabers pushed themselves to their feet.

She sat down next to Shira's cell and looked at her cautiously. The female was pacing back and forth, occasionally shooting glances at Diego.

"Are you alright?" Tora asked softly. She didn't know why she was so restless.

"I don't particularly like being captured and forced to stay somewhere." Shira snapped.

"That's what you did to us." Tora said.

Shira huffed and turned her back to her. Diego looked at her curiously as she padded over to him.

"I don't want to deal with whatever THAT was about. She likes you, you can guard her." Diego chuckled and went over to Shira's cell and began talking softly with her.

"Were you some kind of pet?" The question startled Tora and she stared at Zane in confusion. "You have a human necklace. Only pets have those."

"I've never been a pet. A human gave it to me after my herd saved a baby."

Zane scoffed. "Humans giving sabers gifts. Next you'll tell me you let raccoons make nests in your fur."

Tora simply flicker her ear and decided not to tell him about Crash and Eddie. She turned her back on him and stared at the night sky as the night drew on.

Manny was discussing the plans with everyone. The two prisoners could obviously hear but the didn't care too much.

"Okay, we need precision timing from everyone to get that ship. Half-pint, you got your end covered, right?" Half pint did a small dance and his "troops" followed. "I'm going to take that as a "yes." Diego?"

"I'll free his little friends."

"Tora?"

"I'll go search the lower decks for any other prisoners."

"Sid and Granny?" Manny looked at them long and hard.

"Untie the ship, sir!"

"Right, unwind the vines, and don't let go until we're all on board. We're relying on you, Sid. You got that?" Manny asked seriously.

"Yes, sir. Totally focused, sir." Sid called.

"Don't worry. It'll be easy since we don't have to guard Shira and Zane anymore."

The mammals whirled around in shock. The branch trapping Zane was falling into the hole from where it had been dislodged and the branches on Shira's prison were cut.

"We need to move, now."

"Squint, batten down the hatches. Raz, hoist the anchor. And, Gupta, fly the colors." Gutt ordered.

"Of course, Captain." The badger called and scrambled up the trunk.

"We're setting sail for vengeance, lads." Gutt growled.

"I love vengeance." Finn laughed.

"Captain!" Shira cried as she leapt onto the boat.

"Shira!" Gutt said in surprise and he blinked as Zane jumped up as well. "And Zane! Oh, what a relief! I thought we'd lost you."

"The mammoth. He washed ashore with us." Shira gasped.

"What? He's here? Did you sink your fangs into him? Did he beg for his life?"

"No," Shira looked down at the ground. "the saber took me down."

Gutt glared at Zane and he nodded slowly. "The female took me down."

"You're both failures." Gutt pushed forward and pinned the two sabers against the mast. "I need warriors, and all I have are kitty cats and bunny rabbits." He snapped

"And a seal and a kangaroo." Finn offered and Gutt rolled his eyes.

Gutt grabbed Shira's throat with one hand and Zane's with the other. "You take those sabers down, or you die trying. No excuses." Gutt glared at the two sabers.

"Yes, Captain." Shira gasped.

"Yes Gutt." Zane croaked.

"Mr. Squint." Gutt called, releasing them.

"Aye, sir."

"You're first mate now."

"Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of cool with me, Captain. Out of my way, sabers." The rabbit was smirking widely. "You answer to me now."

"Gutt, listen, he's coming for the..." Shira was cut off by a loud horn.

"Too late." Zane whispered.

"Grab your weapons, mates!" Gutt ordered. "Not the spoon, Flynn. Follow me!

"Yeah, let's do this. Let me at him! Yeah!" Squint cried as they charged up the hill.

Diego leapt onto the boat with Tora by his side and they split up. Diego rushed to open the cages that held the hyraxes and they immediately clung onto him.

"Guys, that's not necessary, really. I love you, too, yeah." He sighed and kept walking with them clinging to his fur.

Tora slipped down into the lower decks and was glad she did. There were more hyraxes in the cells who cowered before her.

"I'm not here to hurt you." She promised as she opened the gate. They immediately rushed out and hugged her. She smiled before shaking her fur gently and they slipped off.

"Get to the ship, don't screw up." Sid and Granny chanted as they tiptoed to the ship. "Get to the ship, don't screw up."

Unwind the vines." Granny said.

"Don't let go." Sid ordered himself.

"Unwind the vines."

"Don't let go."

"Unwind the vines."

"Don't let... Oh, yummo!" Sid dropped the vines to pick at some berries.

"Sid, no! It's a lotus berry. It will paralyze you." Diego warned from the ship.

"Oh, please. I know my berries." He popped the berry into his mouth and chewed deliberately.

"Don't... swallow." Diego sighed.

"See, I'm fine. If there's one thing I know, it's berries. Uh-oh!" His body dropped and he fell to the ground.

"Yeah, finally! Who's the Easter Bunny now?" Squint leapt onto the decoy and began shredding it, only to stare in shock.

"It worked, he bought it!" Manny cried as he ran towards the ship.

"Come on!"

"No, no! It's been a diversion." Gutt snapped.

"I know, I'm having a blast." Finn laughed.

"No, pinhead, they're stealing my ship."

Tora broke the last cage and the hyraxes streamed out onto the upper deck and some still clinging to her fur. Tora scrambled to follow only to hear a small squeak. She turned to see a small hyrax stuck under one of the cage doors and she broke it quickly, freeing her and let her climb onto her back.

Tora leapt up onto the deck and onto the ground where she set the hyraxes down gently. She turned to see the ship had started floated away and Manny was on board. She cursed under her breath and took off running.

"Diego! Come on! Come on, move it!" Diego leapt onto the edge and started running. He had no idea where Tora was but he prayed she was on the ship. A sudden weight knocked him off his paws and he looked up to see Shira holding him down.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You don't understand. I don't have a choice!" She cried desperately.

"You don't have to live this way, Shira." He pushed her off gently.

"You'll be safe with us. We take care of each other."

"Diego! I can't hold on much longer. Diego!" Manny called desperately, the branch holding the ship straining.

"Come with us. Come with me." Shira nodded and they took off running again.

Tora has reached the bottom of the ledge when something slammed into her and she felt claws digging into her shoulder. She rolled over and saw Zane holding her down.

"Why are you doing this?" She growled, struggling in his grip. "We are just trying to get home."

"And I'm trying not to get killed!" There was fear in his voice that made Tora stop struggling.

"Come with us." The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them. "We could get you away from Gutt."

Zane hesitated before he stepped off of her carefully. "Can Shira And I Come with you?" He asked softly, as though he were afraid she was lying.

"Of course."

"We better hurry then."

The two sabers leapt onto the ledge and started running matching each other's strides. A pounding came from behind them and Zane suddenly shoved her against the wall, flattening her against the side. She was about to cry out when Gutt and the other pirates pounded past her.

She looked past them and saw her brother standing on the ship, Shira shoving ice into the path. Gutt slipped and landed in the water below. She and Zane rushed to Shira's side and Tora stared at her brother, who leaned over the edge desperately. She heard him yelling at Manny to turn around but the ship was already floating too far out. She caught his eye and shook her head discreetly. She knew she'd find a way home, he didn't have to worry. Gutt crawled into the ice wall and pushed with all his light until a piece broke that dropped into the water and disappeared.

"Oh, no, he's gone forever!" Finn cried and Tora allowed herself to believe it for a second before the ship broke the surface.

"Oh! There he is."

"Shore leave is over. Get your sorry carcasses on board now." Gutt ordered.

Tora pinned her ears against her head and prepared to run but Zane pressed against her. He leaned close to her, his breath hot in his ear and she shivered.

"If you really meant it, if you can really get us out of here you will stay quiet. Do what I say and he won't kill you." Zane nudged her forward onto the boat.

"Gutt, I can explain." Shira began desperately.

Gutt surged forward and grabbed her throat. "When this ends... I'll have a tiger's skin hanging on my wall." He glanced back at Zane and Tora. "I don't care whose."

He flung her down and turned to Zane and examined Tora. "At least you're not a complete failure Zane."

Gutt pushes forward and stood over Tora. "Now why don't you tell me where your friends are headed."

Tora simply stared him into his eyes defiantly. She wasn't going to admit that the ape was intimidating and she certainly wasn't going to tell him where her family was.

"Do you think silence is bravery?" He mocked, grabbing a sword from out of Raz's hand. "Silence is cowardice. Tell me where your friends are!" He held the sword to her throat and her fur bristled.

"Never." She spat.

A white hot pain shot through her hip as Gutt shoved the sword into her. It wasn't in any place that held organs or that would keep her from walking but it was so painful that she fell The the ground before he removed the sword.

"That mammoth has taken my ship... my bounty... and now the loyalty of my crew. I will destroy him... and everything he loves." Gutt threatened.

"Zane!" Zane tended and kept his eyes focused at Gutts feet submissively. "You have the great pleasure of watching over our prisoner tonight. Raz, take her to the lower decks and leave her there until Zane comes."

The kangaroo obliged and scooped Tora up and hopped down a small ice ramp into darkness.

Tora's head was spinning from the blood loss and the movement but she heard Gutt snarl, "neither of you will eat until we find that mammoth!" And the darkness of the ship swept over her as Raz dropped her unceremoniously onto the ice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Short chapter. Fluffy chapter. Happy new year!**

 **Word count: 1008**

Tora has no idea how long she lay there in the dark but what she did know was that the pain was excruciating. The cold of the ice snuck into her and the wound went numb so she could no longer tell if she was bleeding or not.

Zane sat next to Shira, watching the waves slosh against the boat as Gutt ordered the rest of the crew around. They both knew better than to talk so they simply offered each other company.

"Zane!" Gutt shouted suddenly and the saber sprang to his paws. "Go watch the prisoner. Keep her alive."

Zane nodded and padded towards the entrance. He couldn't help but worry that she would already be dead. She has been alone for over an hour and bleeding heavily. As he stepped into the darkness and his eyes adjusted, he thought his fear had come true. The saber was laying motionlessly on the floor but as he moved towards her, he picked up her breathing, steady despite the blood loss. He sniffed her side until he found the wound and winced. Gutts blade had jagged edges that had cut her deeply.

He quickly and deliberately began drawing his tongue over the wound, cleaning her fur and slowing the bleeding. She stirred when he did and he hesitated but then continued. By the time the blood had stopped, she was aware of him and had gone stiff. As soon as he stopped she jerked her head up and shifted away from him.

"Why did you do that?" She growled softly.

"Gutt told me to keep you alive. Besides, you can't help me if you're dead."

"I offered to help you and it got me stabbed!"

"That was not my fault!" Zane growled. "You were too stubborn to tell him what he wanted to know!"

"I'm not going to sell out my family!" She attempted to push herself to her feet but only managed to sit up. "Didn't you ever have a family?"

"Of course I did." He growled lowly, his claws digging into the ice.

"Then you know why I couldn't just tell him where they were."

"Do I don't know! Family hasn't done anything for me! Those stupid mammoths aren't your family, they are friends. If you hadn't been so stupid..." he trailed off as he looked at the look on Tora's face. It was a reconsidering look, as though she were seeing him for the first time.

"What do you mean?"

"You have to be more specific." He snapped.

"You said family has never done anything for you. What did they do?" She tilted her head and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It obviously matters to you." She pointed out. "You don't have to tell me but if we don't talk we'll have to just sit in silence." She was grinning, a small and painful grin but Zane was surprised she could muster even that.

"Do you really care?" He asked as he sat down.

"Of course I care." She moved and winced and Zane rolled his eyes.

"Dont so that. You'll bleed again and if you bleed out, Gutt will do the same to me."

Tora rolled her eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position. Zane looked at her for a few seconds and she smirked.

"Are you going to tell me or have you decided staring is more fun?"

Zane huffed and looked away from her. "I don't know where to start." He shuffled his paws.

"I guess it all started because Shira And I were different. Where we come from, the sabers are all black or brown. They hunt in the mountain valleys so it helps them blend in. When we were born... we had a sister who died just after. The elders in the pack said we were cursed. They said Shira's white fur was an omen that death would come to us all."

Tora blinked at him sadly. "I had a brother that died. That's why Diego and I are so close."

Zane nodded. "That's probably why Shira And I stuck together. As we grew up, the entire pack hated us. They liked me because my fur was black enough but They hated Shira. A few of the cubs tried to drive us out."

"No one stopped them?"

Zane chuckled bitterly. "My mother was not well respected in the pack. Her mate abandoned her when he saw us, said we were too weak. Most of the pack WANTED us gone. So one day we just left."

"You just walked away?" She stared at him in astonishment. "How old were you?"

"Barely a yearling. We just started walking. It was Shira's idea honestly. She said she wanted to give our mother a new life."

"That must have been so hard on you." Tora said softly.

Zane shrugged and continued. "We traveled for a while. Too long to tell. We reached the shore and there was a gang of pirates. They were smaller then. Just Gutt, Raz, and Gupta. They offered us food and shelter if we helped them on a raid. We stayed with them and we learned things and we grew more comfortable with them."

"You never wanted to go back?" Tora asked as she shifted onto her stomach, her paws tucked under her chin.

"We did." He said simply. "Gutt took us back one night after he caught Shira talking about the pack. Everyone was gone. Sickness had destroyed them. Don't say you're sorry." He said, glancing at her. "We chose our life. Our pack would've died with or without us."

"Have you ever been happy here?" Tora asked sleepily.

Zane looked at her in surprise. Before he could answer, she slipped into a light sleep. After a few minutes, she began shaking with cold. Zane sighed and lay down against her uninjured side. He curled around her carefully and her shaking subsided. Her rhythmic breathing lulled him into sleep. Before he fully succumbed he realized what he was doing. Strangely enough, he didn't mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Another quick chapter. It snowed so exams got delayed**

 **Word count: 1285**

Tora shivered against the ice, hovering somewhere between consciousness. Zane's voice had stopped but she had no idea where he was. Suddenly, a warmth pressed against her. They avoided her injury but lay against her and she felt herself slowly stop shaking. Something in her mind told her that it was Zane next to her but even that thought couldn't keep her awake as she slipped away.

Zane woke up slowly, darkness still surrounding him. He felt fur against his stomach and for a moment he believed it to be Shira. But as his eyes opened, he recognized orange fur instead of white. He stared at the female for a few seconds before he jumped to his paws and scrambled away from her. He shook his head, trying to understand what he'd done. Memories flooded back to him and he cursed himself. Somehow, Tora had gotten through a wall he had kept up for so long.

He looked at her curiously. Her scent flooded his nose as he watched her. He couldn't understand what he had seen that had allowed his wall to fall. He sat down next to her, trying to collect his thoughts and simply stared at her when footsteps sounded above him.

He sprang to his paws once more and rushed to the doorway, meeting Gutt.

"Captain." He gasped in surprise.

Gutt rolled his eyes and glanced past him. "Is she alive?"

"Yes sir." Zane promised and Gutt smiled, a twisted grin.

"Wake her up. Bring her onto the deck. You and Shira are on watch. It'll be easier to guard her is she helps." He stalked away and Zane sighed in relief.

He and Shira normally hates being on watch, sitting at the front of the boat staring at the ocean for long hours but now he was grateful. He was working on little sleep and an empty stomach as was his sister. He turned and nudged Tora gently, trying to ignore the thoughts of laying next to her.

"Rise and shine Kitten." He teased.

Her eyes fluttered open and met his. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, green and blue, neither knowing exactly why. Zane shook himself out of it First and cleared his throat.

"We're on watch duty. Come on."

He led her up onto the deck where Shira was already waiting and the crew was waking. Her fur bristled at the noises as she sat painfully next to Shira cautiously.

"Lay your fur flat." The sudden advice startled Tora.

"What?"

Shira sighed. "Lay your fur flat. They won't hurt you. Not without Gutt telling them too. If your furs all spiked up, they see it as aggression."

"Oh." Tora said softly and forced her fur down. "Thanks."

Shira rolled her eyes and shifted painfully to the side. Tora watched her in surprise but Zane didn't seem to notice.

"Hey saber!" Squint called suddenly. "Help Raz move her weapons." He ordered, without specifying who.

"I'll go." Zane said immediately and stood up. He nudged Shira gently and walked after Raz.

Tora watched in surprise before he shook her head. "What happened?" She asked Shira.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shira insisted.

"Shira. You're hurt. Did Gutt do something to you?"

The white saber laughed. "Please. It wasn't Gutt. It was just Squint. Decided to stab at my paws to make me 'dance' like we sometimes do with prisoners. I slipped and he got the bottoms of my paws a few times, that's all."

"That's all?" Tora repeated and Shira nodded.

They sat silently for a few moments before another question popped into her head.

"Shira?"

"Just when I was getting used to the quiet. How can you even talk when you've lost so much blood?." But the white sabers tone didn't sound upset, in fact it almost sounded like she was laughing.

"Why did you let my brother go?" Tora tilted her head as Shira immediately chuckled nervously.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled.

"You were running with him. Not chasing him, with him. And then you slid the ice into the path to save him." Tora pointed out and Shira shrugged.

"It was the right thing to do." Shira said.

"Yes but you had a reason." Tora pressed.

Shira sighed and finally gave in. "It was something Diego said to me when I was in the tree. He said he got something better than a pack. I guess I figured he was my shot at getting out of here. Of finding what was better than a pack."

She paused. "And then on the ice, he asked me to go with him." A small smile crept onto her face and Tora also grinned knowingly. "He really cared enough to ask me to go with him. I guess it was better than being with Gutt. But here I am."

"You like him." Tora gasped. "You like my brother!"

"I do not!" Shira snapped. "Diego's just an annoying green eyed, sweet faced saber who offered me a way out."

"Green eyed and sweet faced?" A mocking voice made both females whirl around, only to see Zane grinning at them. "You got it bad Shi-Shi." Shira ducked her head at the nickname.

"Whatever." She mumbled and turned her head back to the ocean.

Tora smiled and decided to leave her alone as she settled onto the ice, careful of her side, to watch but first she leaned her head to the sky. "It's going to snow." She said suddenly.

"Snow?" Zane asked in confusion.

"Can't you smell it?" When Zane shook his head she laughed. "I guess it comes from when I used to live on a mountain. We'd check for snow every day before hunting." She glanced to the side. "We must be close to a cold island or something. I haven't seen snow in a while."

Zane nodded. "There's an island over there." He flicked his ear in the far distance where a dark mass in the still dark snow was.

"I'll be happy for snow." Shira said as she laid down and stretched out. "It will be a break from the rain."

Sure enough, as the sun rose and the ship sped past the island, snow fell. The crew mostly ignored it as Gutt kept them on course but the three sabers watched it float from the sky. Tora closed her eyes and let the snow hit her fur, something (as she had said earlier) she hadn't seen or felt in so long. Despite being surrounded by mostly hostile pirates, she felt safe enough to just sit.

Zane glanced at Tora out of the corner of his eye. Her face was content as she raised it to the snow that settled on her fur and sparkled. Shira stifled a laugh and Zane realized he had gone from glancing to full out staring and he immediately turned his head. Shira sent him a look and he rolled his eyes.

The snow eventually stopped and the three sabers stayed in a comfortable silence, surprising considering how they'd met. After another hour, another, larger land mass appeared. Tora tensed and the other two sabers looked at her curiously. She sprang up, wincing at her jostled side, and stared over the edge but she didn't see the ship her friends had taken and her ears dropped.

"They aren't here." She said softly and Zane stood up and glanced around.

"That might be a good thing." He murmured as he stepped close to her so the others couldn't hear. "They could surprise Gutt."

As if on cue, Gutt leaped down onto the deck.

"There's your precious home." He sneered. "Let's go visit shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

Word count: 2177

 **Sorry for the delay! New semester, new classes. I'm sick right now so I've been writing. Sorry if the battle scene is bad, I have trouble writing those.**

As Gutt steered the boat closer, Tora's heart sank. The land bridge was destroyed, pieces of rock crumpling into the ocean. She looked around desperately but she couldn't see anyone. Zane sniffed the air before nudging her gently.

"There's no death scent. No blood scent either." This reassured her somewhat until Gutt jumped down again.

"Well well Well." He chuckled. "Time to get your precious little friends." He shoved Tora, making her stumble and nodded to Zane. "You two will go draw out your friends." He drew a sword and held it against Tora's neck. "You warn them and Zane will kill you." He switched the sword to Zane. "If you don't kill her, I will and then you'll join her."

Zane nodded solemnly and as the boat settled next to the ice, he leapt off, motioning for Tora to do the same. As they left, Tora couldn't help but notice Shira watching them worriedly, laying down so that her paws were exposed, the stab wounds obvious. The smoke that covered the island dulled the scents but she could now smell Ellie and Peaches and the rest of the animals from the valley, although she couldn't tell where they were from. Her side throbbed as they padded up the hill and before long she couldn't help but limp.

"What..." Tora paused to swallow nervously. "What are we going to do?"

Zane sighed somewhat guiltily. "We have to lead them to Gutt. He won't hurt them, not yet. He's going to hold them hostage until your mammoth friend comes."

Tora glanced around nervously and Zane chuckled a little. "As entertaining as it would be to see you outrun Gutt, and I'm pretty sure you can from the way you ran me down on the island, you wouldn't get very far Kitten. It's easier if you do as Gutt wants. That way they won't be hurt."

Tora sighed. She couldn't deny what Zane said was true. If she led Ellie and Peaches to Gutt, at least they would be alive and well. If she didn't... she didn't want to think of Gutts means to get them to the ship. She still didn't like it so she hesitated.

"You have to." Zane told her. "Just call out for her. Then we'll lead them back to the boat."

She shook her head slowly and took a step back. "Zane, there has to be another way."

Zane growled in annoyance. "Kitten. He'll kill you if you don't!" His claws slid out involuntarily and she shook her head and forced herself to step to his side.

"Ellie!" She called out into the silence.

After a few moments, a voice floated back. "Tora?" "Aunt Tora?"

"Is that Tora?" Crash's voice rang through the air.

"Kitten?" Eddie called

Her legs felt weak with relief. They were alive. She hardly even noticed Zane smirking. "It's me. Where are you?"

"You don't sound that far away." Ellie said. "We're close to the wall. Stay there. We'll come to you."

It fell silent again and Zane chuckled. "Kitten?" He teased, slightly triumphant. Tora simply shook her head and ignored him.

"Tora?" She heard Peaches now, closer than before and Zane nudged her back.

"Just keep going backwards and draw them forward." He insisted. "That way you don't have to face them."

They moved back several yards before she responded. "Ya, I'm still here." She reassured them.

"Is Manny with you?" Ellie asked worriedly.

"Ya. He's coming." Tora said, moving back even more.

This went on for a few minutes until she felt her paws graze loose rocks and she could see the boat below her. Gutt was on the boat, obviously waiting for the mammoths to come into sight.

"Tora?" It was Crash this time. "How come the others aren't talking?"

Tora simply stayed silent, not wanting to lie to them anymore as she began to make out their shapes in the fog. Zane stepped backwards and crouched low so they wouldn't see him.

Suddenly a trunk wrapped around her and Peaches pulled her into a hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again. Where's dad? I have to apologize."

Tora pulled away and swallowed nervously.

"Peaches. Your dad... he isn't..."

Zane growled lowly at her as he bounded forward. Ellie took a step back nervously and pulled Peaches with her.

"Who's that?"

"Tora he'll kill you." Zane growled and Ellie's eyes widened.

"Tora What is he talking about?" The possums cowered against their sisters head.

"Ya aunt Tora. Who's going to kill you?"

Gutt leapt out of the dust and grabbed Peaches, holding a sword to her neck. While Ellie was distracted, Raz began throwing ropes over her so that they wrapped around her neck.

"Make one wrong move and your daughter dies." Gutt threatened and Ellie stopped.

"Good work Zane." Gutt praised as Zane simply looked at the ground. "And you too. I knew I could get some use out of you yet."

Ellie glared at Tora as she was led onto the boat and Peaches was led after her. Tora couldn't help but notice that the possums slipped into the bushes.

"I'm sorry." Tora breathed as she and Zane followed them onto the boat.

"Where did those possums go?" Zane asked slightly nervously. He wouldn't be surprised if Gutt got angry with them gone.

She paused and Zane looked at her curiously as she doubled back and sniffed the bush where the possums were.

"Crash. Eddie." She hissed but they didn't respond, not that she really expected them too. "Go! Run! Go get help. Manny and the others should be here soon but you have to help."

She heard rustling but they didn't move and Zane nudged her back onto the path as Squint turned back to them.

"Hurry up you yellow bellies!" He snapped.

As they walked down the hill, her back leg slipped out from under her and Zane immediately pressed against her side to steady her. She blinked in surprise as he matched her stride. Ellie watched them suspiciously as Raz tied her to a piece of ice, the vines kept her from moving much. She was glaring intensely at Tora every second as Tora avoided her gaze. She already felt guilt waying down on her already. She hated that she had drawn her friends into this but she also tried to reason with herself that Gutt would've been a lot more violent when getting them onto the boat. She was in a small daze as Zane led her back to the deck of the ship and she lay down painfully next to Shira, watching Ellie worriedly.

Another ship began materializing in the dust. Tora picked her head up and stared at it worriedly. She heard Manny calling out as Gutt pulled Peaches to the front of the ship.

"Daddy!" She called desperately.

"Welcome home, Daddy." Gutt smirked.

"Let go of me." Peaches tried to jerk out of the monkeys grip but failed.

"What are the odds? We were just talking about you. You like the new ship? I call her Sweet Revenge. And look here. We've got the catch du jour."

Diego jumped up onto the front of their ship and stared around until his eyes landed on the three sabers. Shira stood up painfully and Diego's expression fell. And Tora stood up as well to carefully look him over. Zane pressed against her side as she faltered and she felt Diego's sad expression turn to a glare and she couldn't help but remember the strange things that had transpired between her and Zane in the past night.

"Ellie."

"I'm all right. Let my daughter go." Ellie insisted.

"It's okay. He wants me. And he's going to get me." Manny stepped forward and Gutt laughed.

"Sacrificing yourself for your daughter. How touching. How predictable. Now come and get her."

Raz kicked a plank of wood forward as several hooks caught the side of the boat and pulled it closer.

"Good day, mate. You remember us?"

"We're the bad guys." Finn laughed.

"All right, let them go." Manny ordered.

"I don't think so. You destroyed everything I had." Gutt pushed forward, holding the sword even closer to Peaches. "I'm just returning the favor."

"No!" Manny cried as vines wrapped around him and squint laughed.

"I warned you."

"Stop!" A small voice cried out. "Let the mammoth go!"

"Weiner?" One of the mammoths mocked from the side. "Who brought the muscle to the party?"

"Louis, don't!" Peaches cried.

"What's he doing?" It was Crash's Voice. "He's going to get himself killed."

"We didn't bring him here for him to sacrifice himself!" Eddie cried.

"It's okay, I can handle him." Louis insisted.

"How cute, a hero. Let's see what bravery gets you." Gutt laughed.

"Gupta, give the lad your weapon."

"Nice knowing you, kid." The badger laughed as he threw a knife that landed in the ice in front of him. Tora couldn't help but notice the strange resemblance to a certain weasels knife but was distracted by Louis pulling it out of the ice.

"Let's dance, hero."

Louis swung the knife upwards and burrowed under the ice quickly, confusing the pirates before he leapt up and knocked a piece of ice onto Gutts foot. He howled in pain as the knife cut a small piece of vine that held Manny and he snapped out of them completely.

"Don't stand there like barnacles. Get him!" Gutt insisted.

"Oi, going somewhere, mate?" Raz teased as they blocked Manny's way.

"Let me at him." Granny insisted as Sid pulled her away.

"Any last words?"

"Precious!"

"Will you stop with the "Precious"?" Sid snapped.

Suddenly a whale shot out of the water behind and the pirates turned tail and ran.

While this was happening, Shira rushes to Ellie's side, Tora following.

"Get away from me!" Ellie snapped.

"Don't worry." Shira tried to soothe her as she cut a vine but Ellie still struggled.

"Ellie! They're friends!" Tora insisted.

"Why should I believe you? You led us into a trap!" Shira managed to cut another vine as Ellie pulled against them.

"Ellie, you know I wouldn't do that if I didn't have a choice!" Tora cried before Squint hopped up behind Shira, knocking her away from Ellie.

"I knew you were a traitor. Both of you!" Squint snapped.

"Your little bunny nose wiggles in the cutest way when you're mad." Shira teased, distracting him as Tora managed to free one of Ellie's legs.

"You also look so cute when you think you're threatening." Zane smirked.

"What?" Squint cried. "Your nine lives are over, kitties."

Ellie's free foot stomped onto the rabbit before he could move. "Silly rabbit... piracy doesn't pay."

By the time the sabers managed to free Ellie, the battle was in full swing. Sid and Granny had disappeared somewhere while everyone else was fighting. Tora found herself facing Gupta, the wolverine had regained his knife and was charging at her. Zane leapt in front of her and swatted him away quickly. Gupta charged again and Zane scrambled to one side, only to have Gupta's knife slice his face. He let out a roar of pain and Tora dashed forward, knocking Gupta into a piece of ice where he lay, trying to gather the strength to move again.

"Zane?" The black saber finally looked up and Tora gasped. She couldn't tell if Gupta had fully hit his eye but he had hit enough to cut from the top of his eye lid almost all the way to his muzzle.

"I'm fine" he insisted.

There was a loud crack as the piece of ice Manny and Gutt were on was knocked loose and began sliding away. The mammals leaned forward in anticipation, watching as they disappeared.

"No." Ellie breathed softly.

Peaches had tears welling in her eyes when Manny reappeared, standing on top of Precious. He reunited with Peaches and Ellie happily while Diego joined the other three sabers.

"So." Shira smirked as Diego came up. "Still want me on your scurvy crew?"

"Of course." Diego smiled.

Tora turned to Zane. "You still want your freedom? You can stay with the herd if you want."

Zane chuckled. "I've got my freedom, thanks to you. I should probably repay that debt." Tora rolled her as as he continued. "Besides, Who's gonna annoy you if I don't stay."

"Probably Eddie." Tora laughed and it was Zane's turn to roll his eyes. "But he doesn't do it as well as you."

Diego laughed at his sister and she felt her fur grow hot.

"Is your eye okay?" She asked.

"What happened to your eye?" Shira asked worriedly.

"It's nothing. Gupta caught it with a knife is all." Zane tried to brush it off.

Before they could continue to interrogate him, they were cut off.

"Our home. It's gone." Ellie stared at the destruction as the rest of the mammals began to flood onto the two ships. "Where will we Go now?"

"Hey Sid!" Diego called and Sid hurried over to them. "Do you think your hyrax buddies would mind some company?"


	8. Chapter 8

Word count: 1581

 **Sorry guys! I have no excuse other than family stuff that I can't exactly talk about. This is probably the last chapter for this but I could always get random inspiration for another chapter. Don't know when the 5th story will go up but I hope soon.**

The animals climbed onto the boats slowly, leading the rest of the mammals into their respective places. They managed to get everyone onto the two boats and get them going. Shira and Diego went on one boat while Zane and Tora went to the other and the two pirates helped set the courses for the island. The boats moved easily with Precious helping them move.

Tora pulled Zane to the side and forced him to sit down once they were on their way. She cleaned the blood away carefully from his eye as he sat patiently. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sid smirking at her but she ignored it as she examined Zane's eye. The blood gone made it obvious what had happened. The knife had indeed hit his eye, not very deep but enough that it would cause problems, which worried her.

"I'm so sorry Zane." She sat next to him on his good side. "Can you see at all?"

Zane tilted his head and seemed to be looking. "Ya. Kinda. I can see shapes and colors but it's all really blurry on that side." He shrugged and turned to fully look at her. "I can still see fine in my left eye."

She smiled. "Well that's good." She nuzzled him gently before she froze, realizing what she was doing and she pulled away quickly.

She coughed and stood up. "I'm gonna go talk to Sid. Figure out why he's staring."

Zane smirked as she padded away from him, her fur growing hot. Sid smirked at her as she sat down next to him.

"Someone got the L word." He laughed. "And I know which word it is now."

Tora laughed softly. "Well I don't. And since when do you smirk?"

"You loooooove him." He drawled and Tora laughed nervously.

"No I don't."

"You were licking his face." He teased.

"Sid I was trying to help with his eye." She rolled her eyes.

"But You nuzzled him and you got all heart-eyes when you looked at him."

Tora smiled and nudged him playfully. "I nuzzle you and Diego all the time."

Sid laughed. "Listen to the love expert. You. Are in love. With him." He pointed to Zane and Tora ducked her head but before she could respond, there were yelling from the front of the ship. The animals hurried to the front to catch the first glimpse of their new home while Zane padded up to Tora, who held Sid back from the edge.

"You've already seen the island Sid." She reminded him.

"Oh ya." Sid laughed.

The boats docked beside the island where the hyraxes were quick to draw Sid away into their strange dance conversations. Shira and Diego managed to slip away and meet up with Tora and Zane.

"Oh Zane!" Shira gasped as she stared at his eye, the cut still red and angry and his blue eye turning cloudy.

"I'm fine." He reassured her. "I can still see fine. My right eye is just blurry, not fully blind."

Shira sighed thankfully and nuzzled her brother before Manny called to them.

"Hey! You guys want to go check out the island to find places to camp and make sure it's safe?" He asked, watching Peaches leave.

"Sure." Tora chuckled and then noticed Zane looking at her curiously. "He wants us to make sure the island is safe because Peaches is here, and so is every animal from the valley. We're the fastest, and we can handle ourselves."

"Makes sense." Shira nodded before she batted at Diego playfully. "Bet you can't catch me this time."

"Bet I can!" Shira started away and Diego paused, looking over his shoulder at his sister. She nodded with a smile and he followed Shira happily.

"She certainly brings out something in him." Tora smiled as she and Zane started in the opposite direction.

"Ya. Shira's happier than I've seen her in a while." Zane was distracted by talking and he stumbled over a tree root, still trying to get used to walking with his eye and Tora steadied him.

"Careful." She laughed. "You might have a bad paw as well as a bad eye." She closed her eyes, cursing herself for not thinking but to her relief he laughed.

"That's a scary thought. I'll be lopsided."

Tora laughed and they fell into a comfortable silence as they explored. Zane seemed to adjust very easily, excluding a few incidents that Tora promised she wouldn't mention. Their new home was interesting to say the least. Huge trees towered above them, taller than on the continent. It was a good home, and a safe one from the looks of it.

The sabers searched as far as they could but the sun was soon the set and they wouldn't risk getting caught in the dark and away from the herd. As they walked, Tora and Zane talked mindlessly. He told her of the more civil adventures of the pirate crew and she told him of their journey up until he met her, even if he found it hard to believe. As she came to the end of her story, he stopped and looked at her seriously.

"Is everything okay?" She asked in confusion.

"Everything's fine. I'm just looking for," he leaned forward and nudged the necklace out of it's hiding place in her fur, where it fell often. "This."

"Oh." Tora glanced down at the necklace. She sometimes forgot she was wearing it because it had been on so long. At one point she had thought about giving it to Peaches or even leaving it behind in their home where they met Ellie but something in her felt like that would be betraying the child, who would probably be a little older than Peaches by now.

"Beautiful." Zane breathed. When Tora glanced up in surprise he smiled and said quickly. "The necklace. It's beautiful. I understand why you keep it."

Tora shrugged and Zane ducked his head. "Sorry." The word rushed out of his mouth before he could stop it and he had no choice but to continue. "About calling you a pet. And a liar."

"It's fine." Tora said kindly. "I wasn't really bothered, you didn't know."

Zane opened his mouth to speak but two voices cut him off.

"Tora!" "Kitten!"

Tora sighed as the possums leapt out of the trees. "What did I tell you about calling me that?" She asked in annoyance but she couldn't help but smile. As little as she wanted to admit it, she had missed the possums.

"Manny wants everyone into the clearing he found. That's where we are staying tonight." Crash grinned.

"Did we interrupt something?" Eddie asked teasingly.

"Go on Eddie." Tora sighed. "You too Crash. We'll meet you back."

The possums mocked her for a few seconds before they leapt back into the trees and disappeared.

"Do you know what clearing they were talking about?" Zane asked.

"Probably the one that we started in. Want to race?"

Zane smirked and nodded and the two took off running. Zane was surprisingly fast and Tora found herself working to keep up with him.

"Got to be faster than that!" Zane laughed.

"Bring it on!"

The two sabers began shoving playfully and trying to trip each other up. They burst through a set of bushes and tripped over each other, rolling into the clearing, laughing. The mammals in their herd looked up in surprise as the two sabers righted themselves and laughed for a few more seconds before calming down.

They moved towards Diego and Shira but Tora surprised her brother by laying down next to Zane, allowing him to be somewhat alone with Shira.

The herd talked for a while before they gradually all fell asleep, one after another. Diego was still talking to Shira when he noticed that Tora was still laying next to Zane. Her head was nestled against his side and it was obvious she was falling asleep. Zane smiled fondly and lowered his head into his paws, half curling around her. Diego found himself growling lightly and Shira noticed, following his gaze.

"Relax!" She said softly, nuzzling under his chin. "She seems content."

—

Tora blinked her eyes open in the dark and smiled when she noticed that Zane was sleeping next to her, much like he had been on the boat. She pushed herself up carefully and padded away from the camp, the smell of the ocean filling her nose and drawing her towards it. What she didn't realize was that her movement had woken someone.

She stopped on a hill, overlooking the ocean waves crashing on the sand. She couldn't help but be reminded of the mainland beach, where the waves were softer. A stick cracked behind her and she whirled around to see Zane standing behind her.

"Didn't mean to startle you Kitten." He padded to her side and sat next to her. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Just watching the water." She said softly. Zane sighed softly and watched the waves as well. "Missing the pirate ship?" She asked.

Zane laughed. "Not at all. I'm much happier here. With you."

Tora blinked in surprise and looked at Zane, who ducked his head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I meant that... I mean I know you..."

Tora smiled gently and bumped his chin with her head, nuzzling him gently. After she pulled away, he stared at her.

"I'm happier with you too." She said softly.


End file.
